[Interview] Mutoh reveals the reason for his retirement

>Wrestling is a marathon without a finish line. He had been on the mend for a while after undergoing joint replacements in both knees in 2018, and won Pro Wrestling NOAH's GHC heavyweight title in February of last year. However, he later developed hip pain and his doctor told him that he would be in a wheelchair if he continued to suffer from hip pain, which led him to make the decision. But there is no sense of doom and gloom. For the 59-year-old, who is looking ahead, the road to retirement, which ends on February 21 next year, is a new motivation. He aims to bring the curtain down on his career in a way that no one else can.

>Professional wrestler Keiji Mutoh does not try to fit into the framework of common sense at any time.

>Such was the case on June 12, when he announced that he had an "important announcement". Since the beginning of this year, he has been absent from the ring more and more often, and he also confessed to having hip pain. There were whispers that he might finally announce his retirement.

>In the past, when a wrestler reports his retirement, it is usually accompanied by "tight clothes," "heavy air," and tears, but Muto came to the ring in a jersey, posed in his Puroresu LOVE pose, and worked the ropes. Just as the fans were relieved, Muto grabbed the microphone and cheerfully announced his retirement, taking a three-count from the fans.

>He made them think he wasn't retiring, but then he retired. Mutoh laughed when he pointed out that he was going to retire.

>"I don't like to make announcements with a gloomy face," he said. "It's in my nature to enter the ring in good spirits, do some rope work, and betray the fans (who are expecting my retirement) as a camouflage."

>Surprises are his specialty, betraying the fans in a good way. It's beyond the norm.

>"I said I was going to retire, but maybe not." Even in the interview, he was smiling behind his eyes, as if he was enjoying a game.

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tl;dr?

>For 38 years since he joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1984, he has run what he calls "a marathon without a finish line.

>One thing that has been a constant companion has been his knee injuries. After repeated surgeries, both knees were nearing their limits, and in March 2018, he decided to undergo surgery to replace them with artificial joints.
He felt a bit of hope.

>When he woke up after the surgery," he said, "I started light rehabilitation right away, and after a couple of weeks I was discharged from the hospital, and I could feel that my range of motion was much greater than it used to be."

>However, an unexpected accident occurred. He went to the gym to train his legs and hips on the machines for rehabilitation. When he bent deeply and exerted himself, he felt a sharp pain. When he bent deeply, the pain was so severe that his patella, or knee plate, was broken.

>As a result, his rehabilitation took longer than planned, but he was clearly able to move more than before the surgery.

>This time, however, another part of his knee began to scream. It was his hip joint.

>"When I had the artificial joint surgery, they checked my entire body and found that my elbow and cervical spine were not in good shape, and among them was my hip joint," he said. (They told me they were concerned about the lack of space in my pelvis. I didn't notice any symptoms at the time, but the pain gradually started last summer. I did weight training to get my knee better and regain lower body strength. But there was no place for my strength to escape, so I thought it (the hip joint) had worn out."

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>After the Nippon Budokan tournament on New Year's Day this year, the pain reached an unbearable level. He continued to compete, but was forced to miss the Sendai tournament on January 16.

>I thought, "This is it. I couldn't move at all. I went back to my doctor, and he told me that if the pain was unbearable, I would have to have an artificial joint, just like with my knee, and then I would not be able to wrestle at all. In any case, if I keep doing what I'm doing, it's only going to get worse. The company told me that if I took a break, there was a chance I could get better again, but before the May match, I had already made up my mind that I was going to retire.

>The doctor's next words were the deciding factor.

>Mr. Muto, if you continue to wrestle as you are, you will probably end up in a wheelchair.

>His wife was next to him at the time. It was because of his family that he was able to keep wrestling. When he thought about this, the conclusion came naturally.

>"I've put my wife through a lot in the past, but if I have to live in a wheelchair, I'm going to put my family under a lot of strain again," he said. I told her I was going to retire, and she was relieved. I was also shocked when Otani (Shinjiro) was rushed to the emergency room with a neck injury in a match in April. It occurred to me that it might happen to me, too. My body doesn't listen to me very well right now."

>But that doesn't mean it's over and done with.
>A new place for expression has been created: the Retirement Road, which runs until February 21 next year.

>The only regret (of retirement) is that as long as my body functions well, I can still be as good as anyone else in terms of sensitivity and so on. I have that, but I have to stop."

>He mumbled, his smile fading. For a moment, a hint of sentimentality peeked through.

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>Muto's sensibility has always been popular.

>When he was a young wrestler, he would, despite the unspoken rule of using basic techniques, from the very beginning, come up with a new innovation of using the moonsault press as a finishing hold, in which he would back roll from a corner post and throw his full body weight into the ring.

>I did a weird moonsault, and the audience loved it. From there, I started using it regularly. Sensitivity is sensitivity, but the bottom line is the reaction of the fans

>On October 9, 1995, his victory over Nobuhiko Takada in an all-out bout with UWF International became a legendary match that made the front pages of almost all sports newspapers the following day. Mutoh's freshness in winning the match with the ultra-classic figure-four leg lock looked cool because it was Mutoh.

>"It was a familiar technique, but I think it had an impact, and more importantly, it was convincing (in defeating Takada). My knee was already in bad shape, and I didn't have to rely on moonsaults anymore. I survived there. It solidified that this was my style."

>In Muto's hands, or rather, feet, even an old innovation can be renewed into a new one. Both the moonsault and the figure-four leg lock were a surprise to the audience. The same is true of the Shining Wizard, a knee strike to the side of the opponent. The idea of striking a man with a painful knee with a blow is not common among ordinary wrestlers.

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>another sprinter
Paul won

>This is also a part of Antonio Inoki-ism.
The term "wrestling" is sometimes used to describe a case of scheduled harmony. Whenever people looked down on pro wrestling, his mentor, Inoki, would confront them and try to raise its value to society. He was always the subject of controversial events, such as the "peace festival" in North Korea, the "Ganryujima" island, and other mixed martial arts fights. Mutoh was influenced by him in a big way.

>He said, "Whatever you say, my master is Mr. Inoki. Every moment is an occurrence. This lesson is also in my base. Even in the world of politics, when I hear people say things like, 'You're wrestling,' I get angry too. I am not the first one, but Mr. Inoki was the one who stood up and fought. That kind of anger is what motivates us wrestlers. To achieve this, we have to make the world a bigger place. That's what I've been thinking."

>While fighting the opponents in front of him, he has also fought the reaction of the public and fans. It is Muto's policy not to give a microphone performance after a match.

>"Wrestling is a written word. So it's better to let people imagine it without talking. The media and the public are also interested in it. How people interpret it is also part of pro wrestling. Also, I think (the matches) are art. Art doesn't need words. I want people to value what they feel. However, in today's wrestling, a microphone is indispensable. It can't be helped because time moves so fast. When a title match is over, you have to quickly build up who is going to come out next. Then you have to explain things."

>He does not change his policy, but he also understands the current situation and does not stick to the past. This is all possible because he has always kept his antennae on the atmosphere of the world. That is why he has been able to give surprises and keep up the fight against expectations.

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>Everyone in the world is struggling at some point in their lives, and many people have hit a wall. Even in wrestling, there are definitely times when you are beaten by your opponent throughout the course of a match. I look at professional wrestling and wonder how I can get back on my feet.

>Even when the popularity of pro wrestling plummeted, it did not disappear. He has realized the power of pro wrestling. He has maintained his LOVE for pro wrestling.

>Thoughts on his retirement match on February 21 next year

>He says he has no plans after retirement. All he has decided is to continue training.

>"My body is in shambles, so I want to heal it over the course of my life. That's why I have to train, not for rehabilitation. But I don't have matches, so it's a matter of whether or not I can keep my mind on it. I don't have any extra time on my hands; I can watch Netflix or NHK On Demand, which are great. I'm into old historical dramas, and I'm currently watching "Taira no Kiyomori" by Kenichi Matsuyama. I wonder what my life will be like when I retire (laughs)."

>He has no intention of cutting the tape on the marathon, which he has set to finish on February 21 next year. He intends to run through and finish without giving up the lead until the very end.

>"When I announced my retirement, I received a call from Mr. Sakaguchi (Seiji Sakaguchi) after a long time. He told me that Otani (Shohei) had hit a home run, but the front page of the sports newspaper was about your retirement (laughs). I wonder what it is, but I feel that there are surprisingly many people who paid attention to my retirement. The way to draw the curtain is different. But I don't remember the retirement matches of my predecessors. As a professional wrestler, I'm going into a coffin, and I want to have a great match so that people will wonder why this person is quitting."

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The first paragraph.
> However, he later developed hip pain and his doctor told him that he would be in a wheelchair if he continued to suffer from hip pain, which led him to make the decision.

He's old